


Redemption of a Prince

by AnxiousBabyNightmare



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Other, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-08 18:43:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15249639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousBabyNightmare/pseuds/AnxiousBabyNightmare
Summary: Roman feels as though his behaviour is negatively impacting the rest of the group and tries to change himself for the better. But is that what everyone else thinks?





	1. A Crown of Thorns

Logan felt the splash of a muddy puddle hit the bottom of his jeans and let out an exasperated groan.

“I appreciate the realism of the imagination Roman, but did you have to include mud? My clothes are ruined.”

The prince huffed as he continued to cut down the vines which obscured their path “I hadn’t realised you detested dirt so much.”

It was now Logan’s turn to huff “I can’t exactly look professional when I’m caked in mud. How can you bare to wear white while going on these expeditions?”

Roman turned and presented Logan his immaculate white costume “Magical cloth, my dear nerd. I cannot be soiled.”

Logan grimaced at the poor choice of words as slapped a bug on his arm “Couldn’t make me an outfit then?”

“Calm down there little linkling. No injuries or damage dealt to your clothing in the imagination will leave with you. Though since this is my realm, that doesn’t apply to me.”

Logan recoiled slightly the statement slightly ‘does that mean Roman can get hurt here?’ He decided that for now, it was best to ignore his concerns. “Why have you brought me along on this quest anyway? It is unlike you to actually want to spend some time with me.”

Romans’ shoulders stiffened at the curt words, he quickly turned to face Logan, hands in front and shaking defensively “Ahbuh nuh na! I like to spend time with you! I just always figured that this wasn’t exactly…” he gestured around them “up your alley.”

“We’re in a forest, not an alley Roman.”

Roman leaned his head to the side and spoke through gritted teeth “It’s an expression drone-a-lot”

“I’m aware, I’m just participating in your hobby of unnecessary aggravation” Roman slumped defeatedly at Logan’s words “Though I do understand what you mean. This is all so…fanciful, whereas I am inclined towards more factual endeavours.”

“You can just say being a boring bookworm. No one will judge.”

“It’s not always books. I occasionally indulge in a documentary or podcast.”

 

“Yeah, really expanding your horizons buddy.” Roman turned and continued forward. Once they found an exit out of the overgrowth and arrived at a cliffside path, Roman pointed off into the distance, there stood a castle which was hanging dangerously off the cliff face.

Logan looked forward, once he laid eyes on the castle he tutted “I have to bring into question the structural integrity of building a castle so close to a chasm.”

Roman groaned “If it’s destined to fall then that just goes to shows the chaotic evil energy it exudes-”

“Exudes. Nice.” Logan interjected

“Thank-you” Roman answered to the side before continuing “-ergo we must defeat said evil”

“Now you’ve gone too far, don’t steal my thing”

 

Roman shrugged “Fair enough”

**

As the two reached the door of the castle Logan collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Roman, on the other hand, stood proudly in front of the door, hands on his hips with a confident smile.

“We have finally arrived! Now it is time to rid this land of this plague, let’s press forward squire!”

Logan spluttered behind him in response, causing Roman to turn around. As he saw his friend kneeling down he was overcome with a feeling of alarm.

“How are you this tired?”

“We just.. clim…climbed a mountain!”

“I know its immersive, but it’s imagination land, Logan.”

“Ack! Asthma!”

“You have Asthma?!”

“I’m… as you say…a…a quintessential nerd”

Roman sighed and knelt down, waving his hands he produced an inhaler.

“Will this do?”

Logan paused “I’ve read…Stephen King’s ‘It’. I don’t trust the combination of inhalers and imagination.”

“Shut up and take the life-saving medicine, you heathen!”

Logan chuckled and accepted the inhaler. After a few minutes, Logan smiled “Systems are satisfactory”

“I always knew you were a robot.”

“My life would be so much simpler if I were” Logan mused as he pushed himself up from the ground. With a silent nod shared between the two, they stepped toward the castle entrance. As they grew closer the door began to rumble and slowly opened.

As they entered the castle Logan took note of the architecture. It was something akin to a cathedral, having a ceiling with vertigo-inducing height, covered in spandrels, arches and gothic decoration. Unlike a Cathedral which often had lighter colouring, the castle seemed absent of all colour and life, there was also something quite suffocating about it, as, despite very much standing at the entrance, the numerous pathways and staircases only made Logan feel lost.

Roman scratched his head, obviously just as puzzled “Alright, so which way to go?”

“You…you created this place, don’t you know?”

“What? No, of course I don’t know, where would be the fun in that? When I’m creating a new world, apart from some key features that I want, I let my subconscious do the rest of the work.”

“You…do?”

“Well…yeah. Questing wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.”

Logan looked down for a second, lost in thought. Roman looked on in concern for a moment before gently putting his hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry, yes I’m fine. I’ve just…never considered letting my subconscious take over.”

Roman’s eyes bulged in surprise “Really?”

Logan nodded “I guess…I don’t like the feeling of not being in control.” Logan then shook his head, obviously not enjoying where his mind was leading him “That is irrelevant, and a story for another time, let us focus on this task first.”

The two looked around the room as Logan continued “We either have two scenarios: first, this is a maze and many of these halls connect to each other, meaning we must traverse a series of long winding passages. Secondly, there is a series of dead end’s, only one of which is the true route. If it is the former, then I suggest we follow Tremaux’s algorithm. We chose a direction and mark on the floor every time we meet a crossroads, then we go through a process of elimination: we go down a path and is it ends up as a dead end or leads us to where we’ve been before, we cross out our markings. This will also mean we’ll have made the fastest escape route if necessa-“

“Let’s go down that one!” Roman declared, pointing at the largest hallway found directly across from the entrance.

Logan paused for the moment “Isn’t that a little on the nose?”

“But that’s where my Patton is telling me to go.”

“You’re…Patton? Oh! Don’t tell me you call your heart Patton.”

Roman moved his shoulders suggestively, a coy smile on his face “…maybe”

Logan groaned “Despite how…wrong that is, it is completely illogical. That’s obviously a red herring”

“Ah! But what if the red herring is a red herring”

“And what if the red herring is that the red herring is a red herring.”

“Okay, but may-“

“No! I’m going to stop us there. Virgil or Thomas isn’t here to stop us from spiralling into a paradox.”

“Alright, but then what do you suggest. That Tremaux’s algorithm said we had to pick a path to start didn’t it? So why not that one?”

“…huh. You actually remembered the name.”

“I do sometimes listen to you cogs for brains.”

“Ah. You’re saying my mind is as efficient as a machine. Thank-you.”

“I- I don’t always mean my nicknames as insul-

A deafening roar brought the two sides to silence.

“Was that…?”

Roman nodded “That was probably a really impatient dragon witch”

“…and the sound?”

Roman turned around “sounded like it came from behind. Up those stairs probably”

Logan sighed as he readjusted his glasses “Well, I guess it was the latter theory then. Let’s get this over with”

**

As the two finally reached the throne room they were greeted by a young woman in a dark satin dress, lounging on a throne of skulls

Logan raised an eyebrow “Isn’t this a little obvious?”

“Well considering it’s you, I thought I’d need to make it as obvious as possible.” Roman moved his arms in order to mime an arch “Here’s the bad guy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re terrible at identifying undertones.”

“Are you quite done squabbling?” The woman sneered. At least, as the only other person here Logan presumed it was the woman. The voice was low and gravely, which took the logical side by surprise.

The witch tossed the skull which she had been toying with and stood. As she moved towards them her features began to morph, scales appearing on her face as she grew exponentially. Soon she towered above the two, a fully-formed dragon.

Logan merely peered up in amazement “Well, that explains the tall ceiling, and perhaps even the location of the castle is she needs space to start flight.”

“Don’t act impressed, act prepared.” Roman retorted. He pointed up a finger at his foe “Oh, evil blotch which stains this land, I Prince Roman, the first prince royal of the Sanderian kingdom, along with my squire Logan, have come to put an end to your plight against our home and its people.”

“Wait, why am I squire?”

“Not now Logan.”

“A squire is trained to fight.”

 

“Not now.”

“I should be at the very least a royal advisor.”

 

Roman brought his hands down and stomped his foot in the form of a tantrum “We’ll talk about it later its adventure time now!” 

The witch began to chuckle, a vibration which reverberated around the room “Two mere children believe they can stop me? Impossible. But you may try. See how far you can get”

The witch changed stance, separating her feet to give her more balance.

“Try.

And.

Defeat.”

Her wingspan opened fully as she finished her sentence with a triumphant roar:

“MY RIDDLE!”

The room fell into great silence. The two stared momentarily at the beast until Logan quickly snapped his head toward Roman “Seriously?”

Roman’s head then snapped to Logan “Don’t get sassy. You’re the only one who’s good at these things.”

“Quit whining and listen. This is the only way to save your people” The dragon breathed in deeply, and as she exhaled she spoke in a language that was unfamiliar, gibberish almost, yet both Logan and Roman knew what she was saying

“I do not listen to reason, but I hear every siren’s song and will try to steer us towards the rocks if you let me take the wheel. Who am I?”

Logan folded his arms and brought his fingers to his chin, musing at the words “Looks like even though you designed this, it’s not going to be an easy riddle.”

“Hey!” Roman exclaimed, clearly agitated at the insult, he turned to the dragon-witch. “What? So do we just sit here a twiddle our thumbs -do you have thumbs?- never mind- until he’s cracked the code?”

This brought a smile to the foe, as she sneered “Well I suppose we need a sense of urgency here. Very well. Boy.” She directed her voice at Logan “You must solve the riddle before your friend here dies from my assault.”

Alarm bells rang in Logan’s mind, Roman’s words about his own safety in the imagination being repeated “No, wait can yo-“ His voice was lost as the dragon-witch exhaled a flurry of fire, which Roman deftly, though only barely, dodged.

Logan’s mind began to swim with possible solutions, ‘Sirens… perhaps the solution lies in Greek Mythology?…no that can’t be it, riddles should be able to be solved by anyone, not just those with specific knowledge…metaphorical then…’

“Whenever you get a moment here Logan!” Roman shouted as he blocked a tail swipe with his shield, swinging wildly with his sword as the tail recoiled.

‘to crash into the rocks…to make things go wrong… to lose sight of where we were headed…’

A clawed foot struck Roman’s shield, bringing him crashing into a wall. He became trapped between the talons as he struggled to bring his sword up to an ideal angle to strike. The dragon witch looks on at her prey with desire “You better hurry up boy, I’m almost done playing.”

‘…what makes us lose sight of our goals?’

The dragon moved her face closer to Roman’s

‘…what gets misled by temptation?’

She breathed through her nostrils, exhaling her hot breath onto him.

‘…by purposeful taunts…aggravations…’

She widened her jaw.

Realisation struck. Logan spun around as quickly as he could and screamed at the top of his lungs:

“EGO!”

 

She paused.

Her head span round to Logan, a look of detest on her face.

“You win.” She removed her claw and with a cry Roman fell to the ground.

She turned away and headed back to her throne as Logan rushed over to Roman’s side.

“Roman! Are you quite alright?”

Roman winced slightly as he tried to sit up, but he turned and smiled at the other side “A little bruised, el genio, but it would have been a lot worse if not for you. Thanks.”

A soft smile breached Logan’s lips. “No problem.”

“How quaint.” A third voice echoed through the room. The two turned to see the dragon-witch, returned to her human form, re-seated at the throne, staring at the back of her hand “I’ve lifted the curse on your village” She explained with a sigh “and as such, this castle will soon cease to exist.” She looks over at the two and smiled “You better run if you don’t want the same fate.”

A second passed before the two sprung into action. Scrambling to their feet, Logan sprinted out of the room while holding and guiding Roman’s arm.

**

The loud music was not exactly to Logan’s taste, but the satisfaction of a job well done appeased his mind during this celebration. Upon their return from the castle, the previously ailed citizens flocked to Logan, singing praises and thank-yous and insisting that they throw a feast in his honour.

Even now during the swing of the festivities, he was surrounded by enamoured villagers.

“Oh, thank-you ever so much sir Logan, the dark days are finally over for us.” One woman spoke, teary-eyes as she held onto Logan’s hand.

“There’s no need for thanks” Logan attempted to excuse himself “Though you shouldn’t become complicit. It’s important to make sure such a tragedy never happens again.”

“Of course!” she agreed “You are too wise for your years.”

 

“The king must feel truly honoured” another villager shouted, “To have such a capable advisor.”

Logan flinched slightly at the statement before looking down sheepishly “I…I only did what was right.”

The praise and approval continued, though Logan began to drown out the noise, as he stared off to his side. He saw Roman leaning against the wall of a house while quietly sipping from a goblet. He was alone. Why was he alone?

“Thank-you all again so much” Logan bowed “But I must privately consult with the prince. If you would excuse me.”

Logan jogged over to Roman. The prince had noted his presence and nodded, resting his drink on the nearby windowsill ledge.

“And how is the new spangled hero enjoying his party?” He teased.

Logan felt a blush creep onto his face, though he attempted to shake off such embarrassment and keep his calm demeanour “One of the villagers called me an advisor” he stated.

“A manual override” Roman shrugged “I figured since you didn’t like squire then…”

“Why isn’t anyone here with you?” Logan asked, “We both did the same amount of work, why is it then that no-“

 

“I’m gonna stop you there buddy.” Roman interjected “I…I get to do this all the time. I figured it was your turn…to…to feel appreciated.”

“Roman I-“

“Nope, none of that. Besides, there’s so much more of the party to enjoy. Go have some fun.”

Logan shook his head “There’s something I want to ask you first.”

Roman tilted his head, beckoning him to continue

“The riddle the dragon-witch gave me, had you heard it before?”

“No, I didn’t want to know it either so the subcon-“

 

“Falsehood.”

 

Roman paused and stepped back defensively, surprised by the outburst.

“Even if the subconscious chose the riddle, you must have heard the riddle before, the subconscious only has access to information you’ve learnt in the past, even if you’ve forgotten it. But it’s hard to forget the answer to riddles once learnt.”

Roman gulped, a bead of sweat sliding down his face. Logan stared at him accusingly, though with a hint of concern “Roman, why did you pick that specific ridd-“

“Hey, kiddos! Dinner’s ready!” A booming voice echoed around the village. Logan stared up at the sky, trying to locate the source.

“Was that Patton?”

Roman coughed, clearing his throat “Yes when I’m questing he will usually just open the door to the imagination and shout through. We should probably get back.” He searched through his pocket and produced a key. He held it out in mid-air and turned, light forming around it to produce a door. As Roman held the handle he turned back to Logan “There wasn’t anything special about the riddle Logan, there’s no need to look into things so much.”

 

Logan felt the need to object, but he let that feeling wash away before returning Roman’s gaze “Okay.” He answered, “I trust you.”

**

As he bade the other three a pleasant sleep, Roman locked the door to his room. He paused for a moment, with his hand still on the doorknob, he dropped his head with a sigh. His mind was currently swimming with thoughts and excitement of the day’s exploits, so much so that he knew that he had to record them, to preserve these emotions so that they may spur him on.

He bounded towards his desk and reached to his pencil pot. Rather than grab a pencil, he grabbed the pot itself and twisted it clockwise, a click could be heard. He leaned to the side of the desk and picked up a diary, a pot of ink and quill from his secret drawer and rested them on top of the table. He sat down and gently tapped the tip of the quill. The feather jumped to life, and as Roman opened the ink, it gladly dipped itself in and moved to the fresh page of the book. Roman began his monologue:

“Dear diary,

Today’s operation was a total success. After our adventure, Logan offered his assistance on other future missions and thanked me for his participation. Dinner went smoothly, there were no disagreements between the two of us and overall Logan seemed simply… more light-hearted. In fact, he was more light-hearted than usual while in the imagination, cracking jokes freely.

There is only one thing to conclude from this: I was the cause of his short temperament, my selfishness and negligence has caused him great distress. I have caused them all great distress.

That is the whole purpose of this operation, after all, I will change the way I act to help them, and all though it brings me great pain sometimes, to not act like my… dramatic and boisterous self, this must be the best way to aid Thomas. I can no longer afford to mess up…I…I”

Roman winced as he felt a tear land on his fist. He was shaking at this point, his teeth clenched as his hands held onto his trousers. Quickly he waved his hand to stop the quill’s animation and he got up to return the items back into their rightful places. He wiped away the tears and stared steely-eyed towards the door.

“I promise” he whispered

 

 

“I’ll make myself better.”


	2. A Rusted Set of Armour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman feels as though his behaviour is negatively impacting the rest of the group and tries to change himself for the better. But is that what everyone else thinks?

As Patton burst through the door of light he marvelled at the scene around him. He stood in the clearing of a marshland, the sun peeking above the trees which formed a crescent around him. Before him, he saw fireflies dancing across the river, while the branches of the willow trees tentatively brushed against the water and mysterious luminescent fungi provided the lighting for the scene.

The door of light fizzled away from behind him and he turned and stared starry-eyed at Roman, who was waiting patiently, hands behind his back and returning Patton’s gaze expectantly.

“This is amazing.”

“We haven’t even started the quest yet padre, no need for compliments now.”

“But look at this place…”

“Patton.”

“Everything is so pretty.”

“Patton. Stop.”

“This must have taken you such a long time.”

“Stop.” Roman’s words were loud and firm, causing Patton to jump. Roman himself seemed surprised by his own volume as he quickly looked down sheepishly, scratching the back of his head “Uhh… you’re embarrassing me. Besides, it doesn’t matter how long it took so long as you have a good time.”

“Awwwwww~” Patton walked over and began ruffling Roman’s hair. The prince let out a little giggle before huffing, smiling as he batted Patton’s hand away.

“Please don’t dishevel the prince.”

“I promise I won’t do it again!” Patton declared holding up his finger’s in a scout’s honour.

“Thank yo-“

“It will become one of my founding prince-aples”

“Ahhhhh.” A smile crept up on Roman’s face. “You got me their buddy.” With that Roman gestured to his left, inviting Patton to follow him into the thicket.

“So where exactly are we heading today?” Patton asked, trying not to tread on too many plants as they walked.

“We’re actually going to visit one of my favourite villages, I think you will all get along.” Roman replied. He stopped for a moment to produce a map. He scanned the paper carefully and then licked a finger and held it up.

“Does that finger-thing actually do anything?”

“Well, it does if you know the direction of the wind. Which I don’t. So, no.”

Patton giggled “You’re so silly Roman!”

Roman chuckled dryly “I learnt from the best though. Now I believe we go to the right here…”

The two continued following Roman’s direction, conversing and laughing lightly.

“…and geez Logan looked so happy after your adventures with him the other day” Patton continued to ramble “I’ve never seen him so relaxed, it must have been real cathartic…heh cat-hartic.”

“Did you just a) make a cat pun, and b) laugh at your own joke?”

“What can I say? I have a gag-reflex.”

“Oh my god.” Roman laughed heartily. The laugh was soon cut short however as he noticed Patton was staring at him intently “Wha- what’s wrong?”

“Nothing” Patton smiled sadly “I just missed that. You’re the only other side who laughs so freely, and I’ve barely seen you these past few days so…”

Roman raised an eyebrow in surprise, guilt washing over his body. He tried to push down that negativity before smiling sweetly “You should have said something puff, since Logan enjoyed his time here so much I wanted to make sure you and Virgil got a similar experience.”

“I know and thank-you so much for doing this. Though you didn’t have to do something like this for us.”

“Ha ha! Don’t fear Patton! What kind of prince would I be if I didn’t let my confidants and friends lap in luxury from time to time.”

‘No. You all deserve so much more…more than I could ever provide’ Roman thought.

**

Soon they reached the trunk of a huge tree, the inside had been hollowed out to form a tunnel, moss and mushrooms decorating its interior.

“This here is the only entrance to the village” Roman explained “There is a… magical barrier per se. It is completely inaccessible from any other route through the forest.”

Patton nodded and the two made their way through the dark tunnel. The luminescent mushrooms were glowing inside of the trunk, though their brightness was not enough to allow Patton to see and as such he clung onto Roman’s arm for support.

‘stupid…idiot, of course he wouldn’t be able to see like this’ Roman mentally cursed himself. With a flick of his free hand, a flurry of fireflies entered the tunnel, hovering above the two sides’ head. Soon enough Patton straightened up and let go of Roman’s arm, staring up in wonder.

After 10 minutes of walking, they reached the exit of the log. Patton gasped once more at the scenery before them. The centrepiece was a large lagoon, the waters still and clear, but what fascinated Patton the most were the people around them. Human-sized nymphs, with long hair floating around them from the continuous breeze created by their wings, each shining like a dozen jewels.

“Welcome to the home on the ‘Pareilcera.’ They are a pacifist folk who live in harmony with the marsh here.” Roman turned to Patton “However recently they’ve come across a bit of bother, and I was wondering if you could help?”

“Oh. Are you sure kiddo? Logan sounds like a better fit for this…”

Roman shakes his head “I don’t think so. These people regard emotions highly above all else, there’s no one else can do this but you.”

Patton gasped quickly, a million thoughts running through his mind ‘emotions…aren’t considered a hindrance here?’ The thought made Patton choke, his heart filling with gratitude for Roman, who made this possible. He turned to the creative side and smiled sweetly “Okay, let’s give it a go.”

**

 

Roman directs him through the village to a large roundhouse in the centre, the walls of all the buildings were seemingly built with clay, likely from the lake bed, and the roofs were thatched from willow branches. Leaves had also been crafted to form a drape across the entrance and as Roman pulled them back Patton was greeted by a circle of pareilcera. The moral side gulped and nodded in greeting before following Roman’s lead and joining the circle.

At the head of the group sat a particularly stoic female, her eyes closed and her wings calm, Patton noted the air of tranquillity around her as he knelt down. Once the two sides had settled she began to speak “Ah, Prince Roman of Sanderia, welcome to our humble abode.”

Patton jumped a little as the group began to hum, their wings fluttering gently, they then placed their hands on the laps of their adjacent company. Patton turned to Roman in confusion.

He smiled in response “Never fear friend, like I said these people are emotionally sensitive and partake in physical contact often. This is how they greet people in formal settings.”

Patton nodded in understanding “Aww. That’s so sweet, shouldn’t we join in?”

“We will momentarily, I must exchange the greeting first.” Roman turned to the pareilcera who spoke earlier “Apologies for the delay, I just wished to explain your gentle customs to my gentle friend. I prince Roman humbly accept your greeting, and, reiterate in kind.”

With a nod, both he and Patton then followed suit. After a few seconds, the humming stopped, and the hands were removed. The attention returned to the situation at large.

“I thank-you both for coming so hastily.” The lady began. She turned to Patton “My name is Parvenah, I am the overseer of this village. I was told by the young prince that you were an excellent communicator when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Patton nodded “I learnt the hard ways that it isn’t healthy to let feelings fester inside, especially for long periods of time.”

Parvenah smiled in agreement “That is precisely what we need, the longer this feud holds out the more venomous it may become.”

“Feud?” Patton questioned, “I thought you were a peaceful race.”

She chuckled bitterly, her wings deflating behind her “I suppose that was not the best choice of words. By feud I mean… a disagreement, though I fear it may soon turn violent. You see, a few weeks ago a group of young pareilcera came to speak with me. They believed that our people should start engaging in warfare, arguing that we would be rather prosperous. I disagreed, referenced our teachings but the group refused to listen. They have now left the village and I fear what they may attempt to do.”

“I see. I understand how that may be distressing for you.”

Parvenah smiled “Thank-you, I can feel the empathy in your words, I see why the prince selected you.” She now addressed the two of them “I would like the both of you to speak to them and dissuade them from their plans, though naturally, I wish no harm to come to them…I hope I am not asking too much.”

Patton smiled brightly “No need to worry Parvenah, we will make sure to take this calmly and carefully…in other words…” Roman turned to him, shaking his head wildly “We won’t wing it.”

There was a stunned silence from the group, the only sound being Roman’s hand slapping against his face.

Soon, however, there was a chuckle. Then a snort. Soon all the assembled pareilcera started laughing wildly, their wings fully extended, golden flakes spiralling across the room. The two sides stared in shock at the beauty of such a spectacle.

Parvenah soon settled down and answered Patton “Thank-you, I- I’m glad to hear it. The deviants are currently holding themselves in a cove nearby. Just follow the river to the north of the lake, it will lead you to the sea.

Roman stood up and bowed “We will endeavour to bring this battle of morals to its end post-haste dear overseer.”

She nodded “Thank you, Prince Roman, Lord Patton.”

**

Roman waded his hand in the water of the river, noting that they were indeed heading downstream.

“Come on in, the water’s fine! Patton called as he pushed Roman, running off quickly. Roman managed to grab the bank before he fell in, though he quickly bounced up and pursued Patton. He grabbed the moral side in a headlock, tickling mercilessly.

“Stop! Haha don’t! ha… Duncle duncle!”

Roman stopped and leaned forward, making eye contact “Duncle?”

“Dad-uncle”

“Aw geez!” Roman laughed and pushed Patton away, he continued to walk and as soon as Patton stopped laughing he jogged up next to him. “We hopefully shouldn’t be long” Roman commented, “Then you can go full dad-mode on these punks.”

“Dad-mode?”

“Yeah, you know… give them a stern talking to…-“

“I know what it means Roman” Patton chuckled “I’m questioning why you think I would be using it.”

Roman paused suddenly “Well…because they want to hurt people, that’s wrong.”

Patton smiled sweetly at Roman, before staring up at the sky: “There is no such thing as ‘white’ and ‘black’ morality.” He explained “Just different shades of grey, and even then, those shades differ depending on who is viewing them. There’s a reason behind every action, who am I to pass judgement before hearing both sides?”

Roman recoiled at this, his thought spiralling a little ‘This wasn’t the plan I had set out. It was supposed to very similar to Logan’s: a clear antagonist, a quick defeat, a huge celebration. But from what Patton says that isn’t going to happen… Why?’

Realising he hadn’t spoken Roman coughed “Well, at the very least let’s be careful, okay?”

‘Let’s see how this plays out’ Roman thought, a glint of hope began shimmering deep in his soul.

**

Soon they arrived at the secluded beach which stretched down from a slope, caught in between two cliff faces. As they reached the corner of the cliff, Roman could hear muttering from the inside of the cave. In a hushed tone, he turned to Patton “They may be very vigilant and aggravated at the moment so we must be care-“

Patton walks forward to the entrance.

“Uhhhhhhh…. Insert Pun?”

…

“WHAT. WHAT WAS THAT??!!” Roman spat through clenched teeth.

Patton turned and shrugged frigidly “I panicked.”

“Panicked? You just walked up to the mouth of the enemy like Mr. Confidence-McGee! I thought you had something!”

“So did I! I don’t know why I did but-“

They were soon interrupted by the moving of footsteps, a young pareilcera stepped out of the darkness, a large stone in his hand, ready to strike.

“Wh- Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The two sides stared at him for a moment. The boy was obviously scared, his body was a quivering mess and Roman noted that his stance would not allow him to efficiently throw that rock. Roman dragged his foot back, adopting his own fighting stance in preparation. He paused and looked at Patton, waiting for him to make a choice. The moral side breathed in slowly before opening his eyes and offering a large smile.

“Hi there, kiddo! We were told by the overseer of the village what you’re doing, and I was wondering if we could talk for a moment?”

As Patton stepped closer, extending his hand in greeting the boy jutted forward, threatening him with the rock.

“Do-Don’t call me ‘kiddo’! Don’t come any closer either.”

Patton raised his hands defensively and stepped back. “Hey. Hey, that’s alright. How about this then?” Patton slowly dropped down and sat cross-legged on the sand, he turned to Roman and nodded, asking him to do the same. As he did so Patton turned his attention back to the young pareilcera “I’m going to sit here and if someone wants to come out and talk, then… I’ll be here.”

The boy looked down at the two suspiciously, he bent down on one knee and flapped his wings hard. Though Patton could feel the wind it produced, he was more curious as to why the boy had turned his head, as if listening to something. After a few more flaps he stood up “I am going to inform our leader” he stated, before turning and retreating into the cave.

“What was he doing with his wings?” Patton questioned, turning to Roman in hopes he had an answer.

“Like I said, they are very sensitive to emotions. They can… it’s sort of like identifying emotions through sound. Sort of the powers of an empath and the ultrasound of a bat, mixed into one.”

Patton nodded “So he was trying to identify if I meant him any harm?”

“Essentially, yes.”

“Well then, he bat-her believe I’m one friendly dad.” Patton winked.

“…Oh. Because of the… ultrasound thing. I got you, padre, you smart cookie you.”

Soon enough the boy returned with another pareilcera. The taller female looked at the two strangers before stepping forward. In turn, she placed her hand on their forehead and clenched slightly, before sitting down in front of them.

“…Okay. That one is new to me, what did that signal symbolise?” Roman asked.

The girl smiled wryly “It’s a sign of equal regard, I imagine as a prince you don’t receive that often.”

“Are you suggesting that you see us as equals, and therefore not respecting my title of prince.”

“Exactly.”

Roman gasped, offended.

“Ignoring that.” She began “Now then, I assume my mother sent you/”

“Your mother is Parvenah?” Patton queried. The girl nodded in response. “Then yes, she said you guys wanted to engage in warfare, is this true?”

The girl let out a forceful tut “No. That’s not it at all! Honestly, that woman never listens to me.”

Patton smiled “I thought as much. Neither of you- Oh! I’m sorry, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Patton, and I assume you’ve heard of Roman.”

The boy, who was standing behind the girl nodded “I am Lysandros.”  
“And I am Yara” the girl chimed in “Obviously there has been further miscommunication between myself and the overseer. I do not wish for our people to fight. I do not wish to profit from war.”

“Then…what is it you seek?” Roman prodded.

“To provide aid.”

The two paused for a moment “You mean: you want to help people?” Patton asked.

Yara nodded “Even if we are pacifists by nature that doesn’t mean we should isolate ourselves from the plight of others. Wars happen all the time, with civilians caught in the crossfire. If we truly believe in peace then we would be helping those people keep safe.”

“But if you upset the enemy won’t they start targeting you? You could be endangering your entire race!” Roman exclaimed.

“…that’s true…but.” Yara tried to argue, but it was obvious she was conflicted on the matter, she cast her head down and bit her lip, her fists trembling.

“It might just be worth it, right?” Yara’s head shot up at Patton’s words “Sometimes you can believe in something so strongly that you’re willing to put your life on the line for it, that’s what you all are thinking.”

“…yes…but.” Yara wiped the tears from her eyes “I know it isn’t fair, to include those who don’t hold these beliefs…to have them accountable for my actions, I realised that after speaking to mother. That’s why we left the village, if we establish our own community and act from there, disgruntled enemies may leave them alone.

Patton nodded “You need to talk with her once again. We need to make your reasoning clear to them. This isn’t your only option.”

Yara breathed out slowly “I think… the fact that she sent someone like you… means she wants to talk. It was childish to run away like this. It goes completely against what we wanted.” She stared up at Roman “To not be punished because we’re different.”

Roman turned stone-cold at the accusatory tone and quickly looked at Patton, who had seemed not to have heard the undertones of her voice.

“Well geez kiddo! Differences should be embraced not punished, its what makes dynamics so interesting!” Patton cheered “But you need to tell people when you’re feeling this way.”

Roman glanced back to Yara, her eyes still gazing coldly at him. The speed at which her demeanour changed, to one of smiles and gratitude for Patton, sent Roman for a loop ‘What was that? She felt…sentient.’

**

“So it’s agreed?” Patton asked, writing the final term on a piece of paper “The pareilcera will establish an agency of humanitarian aid, who will assist in purely the aid of civilians and not take a preference to either side of a war, keeping their status as a neutral in all acts of violence?”

“And if for any reason a side accuses us of favouring the other side we withdraw temporarily until the accusations are addressed.” Parvenah added, “Yes, this is perfectly acceptable to me.” She walked over to Patton and graciously took the quill in order to sign the declaration. Patton then turned to Yara.

“I also find the terms acceptable.” She answered and followed her mother’s suit. Once they had signed they turned to the other members of the village who clapped victoriously. The mother and daughter shared a brief loving glance before stepping forward, conversing and sharing signs with the other pareilcera.

Patton and Roman watched the festivities from a distance.

“I hope this was all to your liking, Patton.” Roman said, prompting the other for a response.

“It’s really lovely here.” Patton commented, “Everyone can just be so honest with their feelings, I wish the human world was more like this.”

“I feel like Thomas and Virgil would absolutely despise that” Roman chuckled, though mentally he winced with guilt, as well as concern from the results of the day. “Well, I think we should probably head off, padre.”

“Already?” Patton gasped, putting on a fake pout “Don’t I get a party like Logan?”

“Technically Logan didn’t get a party either, as you called us back for dinner before such celebrations really started, and if you want to cook dinner tonight as well then…”

Patton slumped down in defeat “Finnnneee, you’re right.”

As Roman turned and rummaged in his pockets for the key, Patton heard Parvenah call his name. He turned around and greeted the overseer.

“Are you leaving already?”

 

“I’m afraid so, I just so happen to be the overseer of four rather hungry stomachs, so I must attend to my own duties.”

Parvenah smiled “Very well, I shan’t keep you any longer, but may I offer you the pareilcera’s symbol of gratitude?”

“What’s that?”

She giggled “A hug!”

Patton laughed “That’s my favourite symbol, come here.”

The two wrapped their arms around each other firmly, holding it for a few seconds.

“I can feel the emotions of others. Roman is hiding so much from you.” She whispered.

“What?”

But she refused to say another word. She released herself from the hug and waved goodbye as she walked away. Before he could call out he was cut off by Roman.

“The door’s open padre, Let’s go!”

Patton turned and watched as Roman exited through the glow of the door. His eyebrows furrowed in concern but decided to keep silent for now, perhaps Logan had some insight on what was going on.

**

‘Dear Diary,

I have come to the realisation that I have more control over my subconscious than I previously thought. Scratch that. That’s not exactly true. I have more of a …influence. The riddle that was selected for Logan’s quest… I now realise that it was about me… and the scenario selected for Patton’s quest mirrors my own predicament.

Which is why I’m struggling to come to terms with the results of today. Patton was supposed to convince the young pareilcera to obey the majority, to stop causing a rift, but instead, he embraced their differences. But I am those young pareilcera, I am different to the others, why then can’t I feel accepted in the same manner? Is there some other difference that I’m not recognizing, I’m missing something and I just…I just don’t…I don’t know what it is. And some of their actions today…. It was so unlike anything I’d witnessed before… they felt… real.

…

But I guess there’s another conclusion that can be drawn from this: I really am self-centred. I tried to make scenarios to praise the others and my subconscious ends up making it all about me…maybe that’s what’s different… the pareilcera at least cared about the others, they thought their actions were best for their community, not just themselves.

…I’m more confused than ever.’


	3. No Love from the People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman feels as though his behaviour is negatively impacting the rest of the group and tries to change himself for the better. But is that what everyone else thinks?

“Are you being serious, Roman?”

As soon as Roman entered through the door of light he was greeted by the sarcastic tone of the anxious side. Virgil was facing towards him, his arm crossed around his torso, his other arm pointed over his shoulder.

“A haunted house?”

Roman felt his heart stop, sudden worry that his assumptions had somewhat upset Virgil “Oh…well…I just figured that most of my typical dreams are all light and fanciful, so I made something a little…darker?”

Roman cringed as the absurdity of what he just said suddenly dawning on him. Once he heard Virgil snort, however, his head shot right back up.

“No need to feel so worried about it Prince Prosaic. I just thought that…well… Don’t you need to enjoy this too?”

Roman’s eyes bulged at the genuine concern in Virgil’s comment. Trying to save face however he tried to wave it off “Even a prince can appreciate the more… nuance adventure every once and a while. Both Logan’s and Patton’s were quite high paced, so it's nice being able to wind down.”

Virgil sighed “Alright then, I guess you have a point. There better not be spiders though. Just because there are cobwebs in my room does not mean I’m comforted by one of Thomas’ biggest fears.”

“Of course not” Roman reassured as they both walked towards the manor. With a wave of the hand, his powers confirmed that all spiders had been removed from the dreamscape.

The manor or ‘haunted house’ as Virgil had put it stood on a large hill. The door of light had manifested at the foot of the climb, a large set of iron gates stood behind them. The pathway to the house was winding, with the sides lined with small jet black stones, topiary trees also decorated the way to the manor.

Before the two sides had finished walking up the stairs the large door at the entrance of the house creaked open, and a short plump man with sleeked back white hair appeared.

“Greetings esteemed guests. Welcome to the manor of Sir Marian. I am the head butler Andrew Persimmon, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Instinctively Virgil shied away from the new man, stepping slyly behind Roman, The creative side smiled anxiously and returned the greeting “Why thank-you. It was an honour to even be invited.”

Persimmon gave a curt nod “The other guests have all arrived and our conversing in the parlour. If you would be kind enough to follow me.”

**

As the doors opened to the parlour Virgil and Roman were greeted by a flurry of characters. The one that caught Virgil’s eye first was a man dressed in all black, the darkness only accentuated by the paleness of his skin. The only glimpse of colour was his yellow eyes, the irises shaped like a cat. The man was also well over 8 foot tall, Virgil felt almost dizzy staring up at him. He turned away quickly not enjoying the ill feeling that came over him, and scanned over the other guests, fearful of any threat they may pose.

There sat a rather large woman in one of the armchairs, she was chatting eagerly to another guest, a male whose features Virgil identified to be that of the pareilcera, recalling Patton’s description of the race. Virgil caught a glimpse of what looked like a horn sticking out of the woman's forehead, the entire thing almost camouflaged in her wild ebony hair. On further insight, Virgil noted that her skin looked quite coarse, something akin to that of a rhino.

“Look here…” The taller man whispered, though Virgil would hardly describe his voice as hushed, he imagined if the man tried to speak normally he may burst someone’s eardrums “the final…guests are here.”

“Final?” Virgil responded, “A dinner party for five people?”

“Well, six if we include the Lord of the Manor” Roman corrected “The host does not tend to show themselves until the festivities are to begin.”

Before Virgil could retort, he saw in the corner of his eye the tall man leant down. Instincts kicked in and the anxious side cringed further into Roman’s back.

Roman laughed awkwardly “I apologise, good sir, my friend here takes some time warming up to strangers.”

“zir…”

Roman blinked slowly, before widening his eyes “Ah! I’m awfully sorry. You use gender-neutral pronouns?”

“Yes…I come from a race known as the Umbrate... we are an androgynous people…”

“The Umbrate, yes I remember hearing about them, you live in the lowlands here. I had no idea of their androgyny, however.”

“It is fine… culture is expansive and can be so very different…I cannot expect someone to be familiar with my ways… only after it is explained should I expect someone to understand.”

Virgil leaned slightly to look at the zem, ze stared at the two with a knowing but kind look, filling Virgil with a warm and accepting feeling.

“That…must require a lot of patience” Virgil responded quietly “If we were all like that I feel we could all reach that level of understanding.”

Ze turned to Virgil and smiled, his eyes glistening “Exactly…thank-you for your words.” Ze extended his hand “We do not usually use names… but I have adopted the name Saffron for the purposes of this party.”

Virgil gulped, but slowly he accepted the hand and shook. “My name is Virgil, nice to meet you.”

Roman smiled brightly at the exchange before he too introduced himself “And I Prince Roman of Sanderia, it is a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Prince Roman?!” There was a cry from behind Saffron, and like a blur, the pareilcera had flown to the others. “Oh goodness, it really is you! I never got a chance to personally thank-you for what you did for my people. The village had become a better place thanks to you and sir Patton!”

“Haha, well I believe Patton was the one mainly responsible for that” Roman replied, slightly embarrassed, though with the occurrences that had happened in the village he was slightly suspicious as to the intentions of this guest. “If I recall you were part of the group who was with Parvenah when we arrived, though I never did get your name?”

“That’s correct. My name is Amaranth or Ama for short.” The pareilcera nodded, he then turned to Virgil “I sense you are very anxious, allow me to offer you a sign of confident approach.” Ama approached Virgil, he made a sign with his hand, his thumb, his ring and index finger pursed together, which he gently prodded into Virgil’s chest.

The anxious sides raised an eyebrow in confusion, though he realised that this must symbolise that Ama meant no harm to him. He offered a small smile in gratitude. “…that means a lot…thanks.”

Ama gave a large grin “You have a battle-hardy soul, though I can still feel a tenderness there. You are very special indeed dear Virgil.”

Just before Virgil could blush at the words, the wind was knocked out of him, as something slapped him from behind. He stumbled slightly, though his adrenaline kicked in and he quickly leapt behind Roman once more. Belly laughter broke the stunned silence the room had fallen into and Virgil’s head snapped towards the source. The women which had previously been sitting down was there, slapping her knee as tears rolled down her face.

“Was that who you were calling ‘battle-hardy’ Ama?” She hollered “Such a lanky frame would snap in an instant if he went into battle with my kind.”

“Now now Mantis, weren’t we just having this discussion? Physical prowess isn’t the only thing needed in battle, not that I condone fighting in the first place.”

“Ah, that’s true, I suppose.” The women relented “Though I will admit his speed and recovery time is nothing to sniff at. And those daggers he’s trying to shoot at me could almost be considered intimidating.”

Virgil’s eyes narrowed further as he spat “Your name is Mantis? You should hardly be trying to insult me for my ‘lanky frame’ then. A mantis is practically a stick insect!”

Roman nodded “I believe you are of the Agresterial race? They live on the savannah a long way west and are often named after respected animals who are renowned for fighting. Despite your…amazingly large biceps you should be able to respect the advantages of a slimmer form.”

Mantis laughed even further “Haha! Very true! It’s nice to see two people unafraid to tell me things as they are. Let’s hope we get along just as well for the rest of the night!”

Virgil stared on at shock, typically people were rather perturbed by his curt tone, though seemingly neither one of these three guests seemed to mind. ‘It feels rather nice… to just be accepted without the need to prove myself.’

“…shall…we sit down and chat further?” Saffron suggested.

“Not as though you can sit down. You can’t bend your legs to be able to reach the seat!” Mantis chided

The two turned and made their way to the circle of seats, though Saffron elected to lean against the fireplace. Roman followed suit and quickly sat down and although Virgil paused, he was soon dragged by Ama into joining the other guests.

**

The guests had begun to banter with each other pleasantly for a good 10 minutes. Roman soon turned to Virgil, seeing that the side, although quiet, had his ears perked and was listening intently to the conversation.

“Is everything Gucci there Virgil?” He whispered to the side.

“Yeah, I just don’t really have that much to add to this conversation,” Virgil admitted. He then stared down at his hoodie “I also feel slightly underdressed, with you being in your prince costume and everyone else is in suit and dresses.”

“Not to fear, dark and queer. This manor was established a long time ago as a neutral ground for different races to meet and discuss without the worry of violent interventions. A no-judge policy was established. You come as you are and treated as an equal no matter what.”

“That’s…comforting.” Virgil admitted, “Though highly unrealistic.”

“That’s the beauty of the dreamscape my dear.” Roman winked.

Suddenly there was a loud bang and Arthur Persimmon burst into the room. He huffed and panted before declaring

“Sir Marian is dead!”

**

The others followed Persimmon up the stairs to the study. As the door swung open they found a body, lying rigid on the floor. Sir Marian, Virgil presumed had the features of a rat, a rotund body shape, a long nose and pink tail. He wore a deep blue suit, which still clung to his body in an immaculate fashion

Virgil raised his eyebrow at this as the other guests rushed to the side of the body. As Roman calmly walked forward and stood next Virgil, he chastised:

“A murder mystery huh? Didn’t think you were the type to do something so cliché.”

“It’s got its common conventions, yes, but I felt like something too foreign would have unnerved you.”

“Since when has that been a problem for you?”

“I don’t ever mean to purposefully make you uncomfortable.”

Virgil turned towards Roman suddenly, “I wasn’t insulting you Roman, is there something wron-”

“Sh-stop” Roman stated through gritted teeth “Let’s just focus on this for now.” Roman walked around the room, trying to absorb the scene before him. Virgil stared at him in disbelief, the anxious feelings rising in his stomach ‘He’s never sounded so angry before… something is definitely wrong. Bu-‘

He cut himself short as he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see Ama way hovering next to him “You felt nervous.” He explained, “Will you be all right?”

“…yes, I’ll be fine.” Virgil responded, staring back at the body with steely determination “But I don’t understand how this could have happened, this was supposed to be non-aggro zone, right?”

“That’s correct” Persimmon answered, “Someone must have broken the rules and brought something deadly into the house.”

“That’s impossible!” Ama stated, “There are glyphs surrounding this building, poison or blade nothing that could be considered deadly could pass through.”

“Hmmm~ is it possible to get rid of the glyphs?” Mantis asked

“Yes, You could break the glyph by cutting into it and breaking one would lead to the others to fail” Ama responded. “Though I believe only Marian and the original creator of the glyph would know where they’re located.”

“We…should…search for them” Saffron suggested.

“An excellent idea my non-binary friend!” Roman declared though Virgil noted that his tone did not have the usual level of enthusiasm. Without thinking, Virgil blurted out:

“I’ll look for some glyphs outside the house!”

Mantis nodded “Alright. Myself, Saffron and Ama will go and search the inside of the house.”

“With your permission, Mr Virgil, could I accompany you?” Persimmon requested. Virgil nodded, then turned to Roman

“I’ll wait here.”

“What?” Virgil exclaimed.

“We must make sure the killer does not return and tamper with the scene. I will ensure no such thing happens.”

“Hold it. How can we trust you alone? You may be the killer.” Mantis warned

The prince scoffed “I would never do something uncouth. I would imagine someone as wild as you is more suspicious.”

Mantis growled, but before she could retort Saffron spoke up “Stop…I will wait with prince Roman.”

“Thank-you, Saffron” Ama sighed “Let’s hurry, the longer we wait the more chance the killer has a chance to strike again.”

The four explorers left the room and separated off. As Virgil and Persimmon walked down the stairs Virgil couldn’t help but question Roman’s actions ‘He’s not the type of person to sit and wait for things… what is going on?’

*

After spending a good 15 minutes examining the exterior of the walls, Virgil sighed in defeat.

“Absolutely nothing. Persimmon? Have you found anything?”

Persimmon turned the corner and looked sadly “I have returned fruitless I’m afraid.”

“Argh! There must be one out here, right? For a weapon to have entered the house a glyph must have been broken before entering. For that to happen one must be outside the house.” Virgil comments. He stares off into the distance, lost in thought

‘Did Logan and Patton feel like this when they came with Roman? They both sang such praises, but I’m just not feeling this. There’s something in the air…something I can’t trust.’

Something caught the side of his eye and Virgil turned towards a large tree, the only tree which stood on top of the hill with the house. He walked towards it and placed his hand on the trunk.

“Scratch marks?”

He heard Persimmon hum and walk towards him “Ah! Yes, those were made by the late Sir. Whenever he felt stress or needed to think he would always climb up to the highest branch and lose himself in his own mind.”

“Isn’t it rather strange? I don’t think rats are known for climbing trees?”

 

“A rat? Oh no, Mr Virgil. Sir Marian was a marsupial.”

‘A marsupial? As in a Kangaroo or Koala. He didn’t look particularly like those animals though.’

Curiosity got the better of him and Virgil jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch. He swung forward, propelling him high enough for his feet to land on top of the branch.

“Good heavens! You’re quite the climber yourself” Persimmon called up to him.

Virgil smirked. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Virgil continued his ascent to the very top of the tree. As he reached the summit he gave himself a second to look at the scenery. He whistled at the sight, before looking down near his feet. There stood a marking into the bark, which was glowing a deep blue.

‘This must be a glyph’ Virgil thought ‘But, wasn’t it said that one it broken the others break too? That would mean…!’

Virgil gasped as he was hit with an epiphany.

Persimmon could hear a sudden rustling in the branches and gave a shriek as Virgil jumped down from the very top of the tree. As he landed Virgil squatted, reducing the shock of hitting the floor, but he soon jumped up. He looked at Persimmon with a devilish grin.

“I just had a thought. You were very quick to start referring to Sir Marian in the past tense.”

Persimmon blushed at the sudden accusation but had no chance to answer as Virgil ran back into the house.

**

“So, neither of you could find anything?” Roman looked at the other three guests sternly.

“Don’t act all high and mighty” Mantis shouted, “You’ve been in here this entire time.”

Roman huffed and looked away, to which Mantis began grumbling curses under her breath. ‘Has Virgil managed to figure this out? Once again nothing seems to be going to plan. Yes, Marian was supposed to die, but where are the clues I left? Where are the cute little puzzles and tiny challenges? Where is everyone joining together to work this out, so we can all celebrate a job well done? What is wrong with me?’

Roman began tapping his foot impatiently, only causing Ama to look on with much more concern

“Prince Roman is really torn about something…” he whispered sullenly, just as he was about to vocalise his concerns more loudly the door opened and Persimmon entered the room

“Ah! Mr Virgil hasn’t returned?”

Roman turned around in alarm “He was supposed to be here? How long ago? Why did you separate?”

“Calm…down. He is not…dead.” Saffron stated.

“How do you know for certain?” Mantis asked.

“Next…door bathroom. Can hear…running water.”

The room fell quiet. There was indeed the sound of a tap running. Just as quickly as the others had heard it, the tap squeaked and fell silent. In its stead, frantic footsteps could be heard.

The door burst open.

A flurry of water was thrown.

There was a massive scream and a blur of a body sped to the corner of the room.

“What the hell was that?” Mantis shouted pointing to Virgil and the bucket he was holding. Virgil huffed, slightly out of breath, before he pointed towards to corner.

The others followed his finger and gasped at what they saw:

“SIR MARIAN!”

In the corner stood a rather dishevelled Marian, who was soaked to the bone, eye wide in shock and panting just as heavily as Virgil.

“He’s wasn’t actually dead?” Ama asked in complete awe.

“A marsupial who looks like a rat.” Virgil explained “Is otherwise known as a possum. And, as everyone knows a possum has the uncanny ability to play dead.”

“Why…would he do this thou-” Saffron began to speak, but the whole world seemed to freeze as if they were in a damaged film. Virgil looked around frantically, everyone bar Roman, Marian and himself were seemingly unaffected by this.

“IT’S HIS FAULT!” Marian screamed pointing to Roman, his gestures like that of a madman. “HE CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH AND IS FORCING ME TO PLAY THE PART OF THE VILLAIN.”

Roman’s head ducked down, his body visibly shaking.

“Roman, what is he trying to say? You’ve been acting strangely ever since we got here.” Virgil was tearing up, all of his concerns falling out of him “Please, if I’ve done something wro-”

“No.”

Virgil gasped. Roman turned to him, his face twisted into one of disgust and anguish.

“You. You are fine just the way you are.”

“I’M SICK AND TIRED OF THIS.” Marian continued. The world began to quake and the figure of the image of Marian began to glitch, revealing a person very akin to Roman “I WON’T PLAY THIS PART ANYMORE. IF YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A VILLAIN.” He turned to Roman, his voice turning stone cold “Then I’ll punish you like a villain.”

“Roman, wait!” Virgil tried to surge forward, intercepting the gap between Roman and this new being, but a force sent him backwards. He blinked as all he could see was Roman’s open palm and a blaring light.

‘No… the door.’

The force continued and threw Virgil out of Roman’s room, causing him to crash into the corridor of the mindscape. The door slammed shut before Virgil had a chance to get up, he ran up to the door, slamming onto it repeatedly.

“Roman! Godammit open the door!” Virgil spat, tears blurring his vision. He sniffled, stepping back in order to throw himself at the door. The blockade wouldn’t budge and Virgil's fatigue got the better of him causing him to topple over.

He pulled himself up once more and set himself to try again. As he slammed the door again he heard someone call his name, and a pair of arms caught him as he fell down again.

“Virgil, what happened?” The voice, Virgil now recognised, belonged to Logan. Virgil hiccupped as he looked up to the logical side, who was kneeling down with him as Patton looked on in shock nearby.

“Something...someone’s got Roman.” Virgil sobbed.

**

“you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up you fucked up.

You had one fuCKING JOB. Make Virgil feel wanted, to feel accepted without having to go through a trial of worth. Give him friends who teach him to love himself. Show him that he shouldN’T LOOK UP TO YOU! Such a simple task and you couldn’t even do that right.

You wanted to change yourself? You wanted to get along with them all? To prove you weren’t a burden. That’s why you set this up, that’s why you did all this?

And what have you proven? Nothing. You don’t deserve to be with them. You’re not needed out there to function. You can stay here and do your job without having to annoy and retract from the others’ work.

Just give up.

You don’t deserve that kind of love.”

Roman sobbed as he put down his quill and closed his diary, he got up and looked up at the being beside him, waiting patiently by the door of light.

“I’m sorry” Roman voice was monotonous and devoid of all emotion “I’m sorry for putting you through this.”

The being stared on, before responding “Let’s just get this over with.”


	4. That Doth Make a Broken Prince

“Virgil, please calm down. What do you mean that Roman is gone?” Logan rubbed the anxious sides’ back and attempted to coerce an explanation out of him.

“Wh- when we were in the imagination one of the charac- people went haywire and- and started shouting at Roman. Be-before I knew it I was thrown out of the room.

Patton had walked over to the room in question and began jiggling the doorknob when there was no give he let out a huff. “The door’s completely stiff. As stiff as a board- I’msorrynowisnotthetimeforjokes. What are we going to do?”

Suddenly, a large crash echoed from behind them. They turned around to see a shattered vase lying in the hallway.

“Darn, I really liked that vase.” Logan muttered.

“What just happened?” Virgil yelped in fear.

“This manifestation of Thomas’ house only exists because of creativity.” Logan explains “If Roman isn’t here then this place will cease to exist, we’ll just be living on a… blank canvas.”

Virgil took in the information and allowed his mind to reel, fear that his actions in the imagination had somehow caused this, and more importantly the intent of that mysterious figure…  _‘No… this isn’t the time to be lost in thought.’_  He breathed in heavily and rose to his feet.

‘Alright, let’s go find him.”

Patton stepped back from the door as Logan and Virgil lined themselves up. They nodded to each other, and on Logan’s count, they barraged the door. The slam was heave and caused the door to creak. Then, with another steady kick from the anxious side, the door slammed open.

The room could be described as nothing less than deserted, though the door of light was still open the room felt submerged in darkness, scattered papers dancing on the breeze which emanated from the portal

“Oh gosh, this doesn’t look good.” Patton whispered, “I hope Roman is okay…”

“We will bring him back” Logan assured “And I believe going through that door would be the best start.

The three paused for a moment, reluctant to move forward and brave the unknown behind the nod. After another shaky breath, Virgil surged forward into the portal, quickly followed by Logan and then Patton.

**  
What stood before Logan was a fortress. A really big fortress. The keep towered menacingly above them and the dullish grey that adorned it, though not inherently negative, once it connected in Logan’s brain that  _‘This is where Roman, the flamboyant and colourful character, is’_ gave off a feeling of foreboding.

Patton soon stood next to him and marvelled at the sight as well, Virgil, on the other hand, had gone to full surveillance mode as soon as he entered and was scanning the surrounding mountain-scape for any potential dangers.

Logan’s eyes moved further down, to the drawbridge and spotted a figure. The person was rather short, their features furry and what looked like a tail whipping behind them.

At this point, Virgil had joined the other two and had noticed Logan’s fixation. Once he laid eyes on the figure he let out a gasp  

“It’s Sir Marian!”

Virgil ran forward as fast as he could, fixated on getting his answers, but before he could reach the man, Sir Marian gave a knowing nod and ran across the bridge.

Virgil jogged to a halt and the others ran towards him.

“Who’s Sir Marian?” Patton inquired

“He was part of my adventure, and the person who turned into the figure that took Roman.”

“Was it just me or did it seem like he wanted us to follow him?” Patton continued “Is that a maze?”

“Indubitably” Logan responded looking ahead at the puzzle. As the three sides walked forward he added by shouting into the ether “Just so you know, the irony of following a rat into a maze isn’t lost on me!”

**

It takes 30 minutes of walking around the maze before Logan let out a massive groan. “This is implausible. We haven’t even been walking in circles, the place is just too damn big.”

“Looks like that Treumaux’s algorithm of yours isn’t even helping us.” Virgil grunted as they turned another corner.

Patton sighs heavily, fatigue and fear for Roman getting the better of him. “We… we have to keep going. There must be a way out. We just-.” Patton pauses for a moment, staring ahead down the passage.

“What is it, Patton?” Virgil called

“Is that… a piece of paper on the floor?” Patton pointed ahead. On the wall, there was a piece of paper pinned to its surface. With this new lead, the three found new vigour and charged forward. Patton, who got the first quickly pulled out the pin and took the piece of paper before reading out loud:

 

_‘Dear Diary,_

_I have come to the realisation that I have more control over my subconscious than I previously thought. Scratch that. That’s not exactly true. I have more of a …influence. The riddle that was selected for Logan’s quest… I know realise that it was about me… and the scenario selected for Patton’s quest mirrors my own predicament._

_Which is why I’m struggling to come to terms with the results of today. Patton was supposed to convince the young pareilcera to obey the majority, to stop causing a rift, but instead, he embraced their differences. But I am that young pareilcera, I am different to the others, why then can’t I feel accepted in the same manner? Is there some other difference that I’m not recognizing, I’m missing something and I just...I just don’t...I don’t know what it is._

_…_

_But I guess there’s another conclusion that can be drawn from this: I really am self-centred. I tried to make scenarios to praise the others and my subconscious ends up making it all about me…maybe that’s what’s different… the pareilcera at least cared about the others, they thought their actions were best for their community, not just themselves._

_…I’m more confused than ever.’_

“Is that a diary entry of Roman’s?” Logan stared at the piece of paper in bewilderment. Though the extent to which Roman was suffering had never been apparent to Logan, upon hearing those words he was able to connect so many dots as to explain the fanciful sides’ behaviour over the past few days.

“Oh kiddo…” Patton sobbed “I never… I never thought you needed to be told… I thought- Oh God, Logan we need to find him!”

“We will get him back, Patton.” Logan assured once more.

“Hey, there’s another paper over here Virgil called, who was already halfway down the next path.

The second note read:

_‘Dear diary,_

_Today’s operation was a total success. After our adventure, Logan offered his assistance on other future missions and thanked me for his participation. Dinner went smoothly, there were no disagreements between the two of us and overall Logan seemed simply… more light-hearted. In fact, he was more light-hearted than usual while in the imagination, cracking jokes freely._

_There is only one thing to conclude from this: I was the cause of his short temperament, my selfishness and negligence has caused him great distress. I have caused them all great distress._

_That is the whole purpose of this operation, after all, I will change the way I act to help them, and all though it brings me great pain sometimes, to not act like my… dramatic and boisterous self, this must be the best way to aid Thomas. I can no longer afford to mess up…I…I’_

“…Roman” Logan whispered, rubbing his fingers over the end of the pages, which had long ago been stained with tears. “I never thought you cared this much… Ah geez.” Logan looked up towards the next path. “Virgil, there’s another down there as well.”

The anxious side gulped, already guessing that this entry may just be about him. Once they jogged over he carefully freed the paper and, electing to ignore the ramblings at the beginning, spoke aloud shakily:

 

_‘You had one **fuCKING JOB**. Make Virgil feel wanted, to feel accepted without having to go through a trial of worth. Give him friends who teach him to love himself. Show his that he  **shouldN’T LOOK UP TO YOU!**  Such a simple task and you couldn’t even do that right._

_You wanted to change yourself? You wanted to get along with them all? To prove you weren’t a burden. That’s why you set this up, that’s why you did all this?_

_And what have you proven? Nothing. You don’t deserve to be with them. You’re not needed out there to function. You can stay here and do your job without having to annoy and retract from the others’ work._

_Just give up._

**_You don’t deserve that kind of love._ ** _’_

“This is… so much worse than I anticipated” Logan shuddered. “To think we had let him suffer this long… without even realising it…”  
  


“We… we have to think positively, for his sake.” Patton stated through gritted teeth. It was understandably hard to keep a light atmosphere in such a situation, but nonetheless, Logan found solace in his words “Though with that being said we can’t waste any more time here. There must be an exit that we’re not thinking of.”

Patton turned to Virgil, who he noticed had not spoken yet since reciting the diary entry. The anxious side was clenching the piece of paper, on the edge of tearing it apart and shaking violently.

“Kiddo…?”

“Fuck it.”

Logan spins round to see Virgil halfway up the maze wall. Once he reaches the top he peers towards the keep. “If we balance on this wall and walk we can jump down near the entrance of the tower.”

“This… this feels like we’re cheating.” Logan grumbled but accepted Virgil’s hand as he is helped up.

“You’re just salty because you didn’t think of this.”

“It’s literally thinking outside the box, huh” Patton joked dryly.

**

As they opened the door Logan was greeted by the sight of a rather plain interior, and architecture that was not at all functional for use in battle.

“What is with Roman and making structurally dubious buildings?” Logan mused aloud. All that was in the room was a giant spiral staircase. Absolutely nothing else. Nothing. Bland.

“Are we positive Roman made this though?” Patton suggested.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, although Roman does definitely have sole control of the imagination, we as sides are able to influence it. For instance, if you learnt something new, Logan, like a new constellation, it’s possible for it to appear in the starry night of dreamland.

“The being who took roman also seemed able to influence the place. He was able to distort the time and space.” Virgil added.

“That sounds…. Like something more than just influence.” Logan responded quietly. He looked back at the staircase. “Let’s proceed. We must be quick.”

As they jogged up the stairs, Patton couldn’t help but look back at Virgil in concern. The younger side had his head down, his shoulders hunched, very much like the posture he adopted when they first met.

“Virgil” Patton whispered “Is everything okay. You’ve been tense ever since the maze. I know what we read was scary but we’ve gott-

“I should have known Patton.” Virgil spat out quietly “I know exactly what it’s like to suffer like… this. But I didn’t notice a thing until it was too late. How could I do this to him?”

“We all did this kiddo, and we’re all at fault for hiding ill thoughts. Plus, we all have different ways of hiding them! Logan and I should have been just as capable of noticing that things were off.”

“But… I don’t know. I’m the anxious side, the vigilant one! I’m supposed to notice these things.”

“In all honesty, I think you did, you just trusted Roman that he knew what he was doing. Besides, these aggravations are just evidence that you truly care, so don’t feel too bad.”

“We sort of have places to be if you two would be so kind as to increase your mileage per second!” Logan called from above.

“We’re right behind you!” Patton calls. He turns back to Virgil and offers a reassuring smile. Virgil hesitates for a second before returning the expression and the two fastened their jog up the stairs.

**  
The top of the stairs led to a single room. The room, like the rest of the place, was empty and dull. The only descendible features were a large door at the other end of the room atop some more stairs, that and the rat-like creature who stood in front of it.

“Sir Marian!” Virgil called. As they walked forward, however, the image began to shift, and a more human-like shape appeared in its stead. The being was the spitting image of Roman (though Logan noted that that was a pointless statement considering who and where they were), his clothes were parallel to the prince’s, though this doppelganger used a darker colour set of black and silver, and his hands were shackled together.”

“Wh-who are you” Patton queried “You don’t feel like a sid-“  
  
“I know what you are.” Logan stated, “You are Roman’s subconscious, correct?”

The figure smiled sadly “I’m sorry for putting you all through this trouble.”

Virgil’s eyes widened a little, instant regret that he had labelled this person a villain, much like how he was treated before. He put on a brave place “Something strange has been going on with Roman for a while now, hasn’t it?”

The subconscious nodded again “He has been… re-evaluating his worth and place as a side, and decided he needed to… reboot himself.”

“Reboot, like a TV show?” Patton questioned.

“To re-create an old franchise with more modern animation, sometimes with changed plots or concepts in order to satisfy a new audience or to rectify loopholes accidentally made,” Logan uttered the definition. “In other words, Roman feels he is unfit to function?”

“Correct. He decided to do this by becoming a person who praises you all instead of, and I quote “someone who throws childish insults when they don’t get their way”

“But that was just showing how passionate he was about things!” Patton objected

“They  did sting sometimes though” Virgil countered “Then again, I can be blamed for doing exactly the same.”

“But that… wait. Was it his decision to come here?”

“He made the conscious choice yes.” The subconscious responded “As you know when he wishes to be surprised on his adventures he asks me to create the details, he’ll stipulate what he wants, and I bring the mechanisms together. These new beliefs of his have meant he has painted himself… us as a villain, and as the constructor of these scenarios I had to play the part.”

“Such as Sir Marian?”

“…the dragon witch” Logan added

“Yes. Even young Yara who Patton was supposed to scold.” He turned to Virgil “As I’m sure you relate, I grew tired of this portrayal, and that led to the outburst you witnessed. When you had left the room, I had planned to simply talk to Roman, but he had different plans.” He sighed “He told me he wished to be locked away in the imagination. Punished for his actions. Then he could return as a husk of his former self and only act when he was necessary.”

“No… Why would he want that? Does he think we want that?” Patton cried.

“It is difficult to say. As his subconscious, I only know his innermost feelings. Factors may be affecting his mind which may lead him to think badly of himself. But deep down, what I, his id is telling him, is that he needs some comfort and to be reassured.”

“So what you mean is that this is our fault.”   Virgil mumbled.

“Calm down Virgil. We were not always a family, and as such we all have our mechanisms of self-preservation.” Logan explained “We used to work as individuals, each with a separate territory, but then we grew up and began to understand ourselves better, and learnt we needed to work together. But old habits die hard I’m afraid.”

The subconscious nodded “I also know deep down Roman doesn’t blame anyone for this.”

“Is that why you led us here, left us this trail of diary entries? To convince him he’s valid the way he is?” Patton asked

Logan and Virgil turned to Patton “What?” Logan inquired “Why do you think he was the cause of this?”

“Roman wouldn’t leave an accessible trail, and I feel even despite his predicament he would still make the place, ornate you know. But you.” Patton nodded “You are Roman’s basic needs and desires, you would only see the basic as necessary”

The subconscious smiled sadly “He told me to create a place where he could suffer. He didn’t specify whether or not people could access him, or that I shouldn’t include things such as his diary entry. But, I fear I have been talking for too long, you must help Roman, he is in the room behind me.”

All three sides looked at one another and nodded in agreement, they broke out into a run towards the door.

**

Patton wished he could let out a scream.

As they burst through the door all they could see was their friend. Roman. He was hung by his arms on a wooden frame, his clothes tattered and stained in blood. The room itself was dreary, small in width, but made up for it in staggering height. The only light source was the open ceiling, barred, causing the light to cascade in sections, luminating the pain the fanciful side as going through.

Behind him stood a suit or armour. It held a whip. Slash. Another Slash. The hard leather penetrating the prince’s back, and with each, he let out a miserable yelp. His head was lowered, to heavy for him to hold up, which allowed the others to see a circle of brambles placed on his head, the thorns jabbing into his scalp.

When he heard the door slam open, he mustered enough strength, to look up. His eyes bulged. Then he exhaled heavily and dropped his head once more, chuckling dryly to himself.

“Isn’t this a little too cruel, subconscious? To create figments of them?”

It felt like Virgil’s heart started again as he leapt into action. He lunged forward and grabbed the armour, using the force of the blow to topple it over and pin it to the floor.

Following suit, Logan and Patton ran towards Roman and attempted to open the shackles which bound him

“Stop that.” Roman spat. The words, although sounding weak carried a weight which forced the two to stop in their tracks.

It was at this point Logan realised that they would not get anywhere without consoling Roman first. He walked in front of Roman and, resting his hand on his cheek, brought the side to look at him.

“We read your diary entries, and there’s something I need to tell you.” Logan could feel Roman’s breath hitch, but he continued “Roman, that day we spent in your imagination, and more importantly, my temperament afterwards, was not purely about what I did, but who I did it with. I felt like you and I had finally gotten closer. It’s true we don’t see eye to eye but that’s why I value so much, you make points that I would never take into consideration. Yes, I’m usually… grumpy and curt, but that’s not because of you. It’s just my job to be cold sometimes. I was so happy that day because I thought I found a place, a person who I could relax a little with. I should have thanked you for that more clearly.”

Patton came over and stood next to Roman while wiping tears from his eyes he spoke: “Kiddo… I always thought you knew you were different, and more importantly, that I accepted your differences. I mean…” Patton chuckled “I absolutely adore you, Roman. Your laugh was always so free and hearty, you were never afraid to fight for what you cared about. You brought so much joy into my life. And I took that for granted. I assumed you didn’t need to be told that you were valid, or accepted. I’m sorry about that, I really am.”

It was Virgil’s turn to shout to Roman from where he had the armour pinned “You were right in your diary entry. I do look up to you. I want to be a person who is confident enough to tell people how it is. I have always been the little nagging voice in the back of Thomas’ head, while you… you made decisions, bold moves. But, as that little voice, I should have heard your whispers of fear. I should have been able to understand. I’m sorry for not listening, Roman!”

“Stop it!” Roman bellowed, large sobs breaking out as the tears cascaded down his face. He pulled against the chains “Subconscious! Stop, this is too much. To play out my deepest hopes and wants in front of me, what are you going to do now?  Make them dissipate in front of me? Make them turn into horrid, twisted versions of them who will go back on everything they’ve just said? Please… please don’t do that, that’s more than even I deserve.”

“No, Roman we’re real. I know deep down you know that.” Logan pleaded, “You know your subconscious, you know yourself, it wouldn’t want to do this to you.”

“He….I’ve hurt him so much though.” Roman cried

Patton could hear laboured breathing behind him, he turned to see Virgil, hyperventilating, tears drowning his eyes. “Please believe us, Roman.” He stuttered “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m so sorry I’m sorry.”

“Virgil please do your breathing exercises kiddo, we need you here!” Patton called.

“…Virgil? What’s happening to Virgil?” Roman rasps, his panic evident as he tries to turn his head slightly and find the anxious side.

Virgil attempts to control his breathing to no avail “I should have known. I know what this feels like I should have seen. It’s too much- I can’t- I’m so sorry, I’m so-so….” Words could no longer be formed as he began to wail uncontrollably.

 

...

 

It felt like glass the way the world suddenly shatters around them, leaving them in a room of white.

...

 

With Roman released from his restraints, and with a silent nod from Logan Patton runs towards Virgil. Logan helped Roman up.

“You’re… real?” Roman questions, too weak to even open his eyes

“As real as facets of a person’s mind can be, yes.” Logan answered, a small concerned smile breaching his lips.

“What happened with Virgil? I-I heard crying.”

“As anxiety, I guess it isn’t surprising he could affect the imagination to this extent. Anxiety can either lead someone to escape into the world of fantasy or escape out of it. Essentially he has completely shattered the world you created.”

“Wh-“ Roman began, Logan cut him off

“Why? Because he was so distressed that he’d failed you. Does it surprise you so much that he cares?”

“I-I thought out of everyone… he hated me the most.”

“Well, that’s hard to say. If we assume hate and love are a scale, love being a positive number and hate being negative, he may hate you the most, but since all our feelings for you are in the positive end of the spectrum, such a description is redundant and misleading.”

“…You’re going to have to explain that one to me.”

“…we all love you just the way you are, Roman.”

There was a small hitch in Roman’s breath before Logan felt the sides weight increase against him. He quickly brought his hand to Roman’s other side, to catch him as he slumped. Logan smiled a little, as he hitched Roman up to get a better grip.

“Ah good, looks like he’s finally letting go. Rest well.”

**

When Roman awoke it was to the feeling of someone lightly stroking his hair, and a soft tune hitting his ears.

He opened his eyes and hissed at the bright lights. A few blinks later his eyes accommodate to the brightness, and he looked at his surroundings.

“Welcome back to the world of the living **-room** , kiddo.” Patton whispered. Morality was knelt on the sofa with Roman’s head in his lap, looking lovingly at the aching side.

“Patton? How did we get back here?”

“Oh! That was all because of your super helpful subconscious” Patton cheered, “He led us back to the door of light. You have to remind me to bake him something as a thank-you.” Patton turned his head to look behind them. “…that is, once the kitchen is back.”

“What?” Roman shot up from Patton’s lap. He winced slightly from the pain but as he peered to where the kitchen should have stood he gasped. There in its stead was just white. “How did that happen?”

“Oh, it’s not just the kitchen, half the house is missing. Turns out that each of us has contributed to the creation of this house. Logic creates the foundation and structure, you see the walls to the kitchen are still there, they’re just not visible. You Roman are responsible for the interior. You create the appliances the decorations, and so on. When you went missing things began to disappear.”

Roman marvelled at it all in complete awe. He raised his hand in front of him, facing the kitchen, and gave his hand a twirl, soon the flooring and the walls became visible, as well as the work surfaces.

“Woah.”

“Good to know we can get it all back! Though save it for now, wouldn’t want you overexerting yourself.”

Roman turned to Patton again “So what do you and Virgil, um… contribute?”

Patton beamed “Oh, I control the exterior, so the plants out front and the sunlight which comes through the windows. Virgil is what grounds us, he keeps the whole thing stable. Since he was still technically in the mind palace when he ducked out we didn’t see the effects.”

“Where is Virgil now?”

Patton smiled sadly “The poor kiddo was tuckered out. Once we arrived back here he practically collapsed. I carried him upstairs, but his room was gone, so he is sleeping in mine. Oh, and Logan is with Thomas, he had been calling for us tirelessly all this time, so he was starting to get worried.”

Roman gulped and stared down, the feeling of guilt washing over his stomach “I’m- I’m so sorry padre.”  
  


“Nope.”  
  


“What?”

“You don’t get to apologise. Because you don’t need to. We all have feelings that we hide from each other. It’s not healthy, and we shouldn’t but to expect you to apologise for doing it would be the most hypo-crycological thing I could think of.

“…do you mean hypocritical?”

“Wow isn’t it usually an elephant in a room, rather than a hippo?”

“Wh- Oh. Oh. Good one Patton.”

Patton giggled cheekily. Once he had settled down he put a hand on his shoulder.  “It’s a process. But we’re all going to get better at talking about what bothers us. Just know that I’m always going to be there kiddo.”

Roman smiled, tears brimming his eyes. He laughed dryly at himself and attempted to wipe them away. “Gosh darn, what did I do to deserve you fabulous gays?”

“Don’t you mean guys?” Logan enquired as he rose back up into the mind palace.

“I know what I said.”

**

_‘Dear ~~Diary,~~  Journal,_

_Wow, it feels weird writing that for some reason. I guess that old book became a… rather peculiar friend, the only thing I trusted my secrets too. But that book is gone now, and you’re new! Patton asked me to continue making these entries and to include the positive and the negative things. This way, if I’m ever feeling down but can’t bring myself to tell the others I can just show you to them!_

_Actually, it definitely feels weird calling you a diary now, a diary suggests secrecy. Okay, I’m just gonna call you journal instead!_

_Ever since the… incident, things have been going smoothly. Once Logan returned I tried to apologise again, but he cut me off before I could even start. We’ve decided to make time to do monthly trips into the imagination together, I feel like out of all three Logan enjoyed his time there the most._

_When I went to see Virgil after he woke up… he looked absolutely exhausted. I managed to blurt out an apology like the doof I am and he flicked me on the nose and said if I tried apologising again he’d cut the heads off all my Disney plushes._

_I mean, the nerve of some people._

_Virgil’s room is the first thing I rebuilt, and he helped me out a lot on it. It was nice to learn more about him through the experience. We’ve also made the promise to talk more._

_Recovery… will be slow, but I’m looking forward to it. I feel… wanted, and honestly, I feel like a fool for not realising that it was there in front of me the whole time. Though I guess it’s nice… to have it vocalised every once in a while._

_Thanks for listening Journal,_

_Roman’_

* * *


End file.
